Valentine Z. Ivankovic

Ivankovic, Valentine Z. 1925-2007
With his family by his side, Valentine Ivankovic passed peacefully to be by the Lord's side on November 29, 2007. Valentine (Val) was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina of Croatian parents, Andrijia and Jaka. He graduated from Second State High School, attended College in Italy and graduated Commercial School in the United States. At the time Val was among the youngest first league soccer players in Bosnia, Croatia, and Italy. He was among the few survivors of the post WWII massacre at Bleiburg. To escape communism, he eventually fled his homeland to Rome, Italy. At San Jerome College he met the late Monsignor Anton Gulik who appointed him Secretary General in charge of assisting refugees from Eastern Europe with resettlement. In 1947 he came to the United States, eventually landing in Los Angeles under the sponsorship of the burgeoning Croatian community here. An affable hard worker, he quickly found employment at Bullocks Department Stores. Not soon after he left for the employ of a national discounter, S.H. Kress. This began a near 40-year career in retail, eventually leading to the position of President of S.H. Kress West and Director of its parent company Genesco, Inc. In 1952 he met and married his lovely wife, Ernestine. They were married for 55 years and had one daughter, Tina Marie, an attorney and partner at the law firm of Ford, Walker, Haggerty and Behar. Although his career caused him to relocate the family several times from coast-to-coast, he always considered San Pedro his home. He returned to San Pedro for good in 1981. Val gave every bit of his time to his family, the Croatian community and the Church. He was the co-founder of the first Croatian American Cultural Club where he was President for ten years. He was a frequent speaker and supporting member of the first Croatian Radio Program in Los Angeles. He co-founded the first Croatian Soccer Club "Bosna" in Los Angeles. He was Secretary of the Croatian National Association and Executive Director. He served as President of the Croatian Catholic Family Guild at Mary Star of the Sea Parish in San Pedro where he was a lecturer, Eucharistic Minister and a guaranteed volunteer for most any and every event. Most recently he was proud to serve as President of the Archdiocesan Ethnic Community Council for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Val was an avid reader of all subjects. Fluent in many languages he was a guest lecturer at universities, Christian, Jewish and Islamic centers, and other institutions around the world. He participated in the peace negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland that brought an end to the war in Bosnia. He was later present for the formal treaty signing at the White House with former President Bill Clinton. Valentine will be sorely missed and is survived by his wife, Ernestine; his daughter, Tina Mangarpan; son-in-law, Jeff Mangarpan; step-granddaughter, Kristina Mangarpan, the absolute love of his life granddaughter Brittany Mangarpan, sister Tonka Grubesic, and several sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews all of whom he dearly loved. He was pre-deceased by two bothers John and Rile Ivankovic and sister Nada.A Funeral Mass will be offered at Mary Star of the Sea Parish in San Pedro on December 6, 2007 at 10:30 am. Visitation will be on December 5, 2007 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at McNerny's Mortuary in San Pedro with a rosary service beginning at 7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mary Star of the Sea Capital Campaign, 870 West 8th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Please sign the guest book at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.